Many people looking into Adult Family Homes or other assisted living stations for either themselves or a loved one may think, “how safe is this place” or “how is the safety ensured here”. This can be answered in many different ways. This can be focused on caregiving, processes, technology, chemical/medication protection, among many other things. To address these questions, I will discuss some of the ways that The Promised Land Adult Family Home provides proper safety measures for their residents.
First and in many ways most importantly, CAREGIVING and the ways that caregivers are trained is the first step in ensuring your loved one’s safety. Before hiring is even considered, applicants are processed through a background check system reporting all criminal cases that could be associated to them. If cleared with a completely clean record, the applicant is then fingerprinted so that their information is federally logged for further accountability. Applicants are also sent through or have previously completed training to become HCA, CNA, or higher education, all of which ensure that they are certified in knowing the standard care needs, as well as how to professionally and safely perform these care processes. Upon hiring, regardless of experience level, all hired employees are sent through our training program which teaches them all of our techniques including transferring techniques, equipment usage, how to use supplies effectively, etc. to meet the needs of our current and incoming residents. This training includes extended periods of shadowing a manager and is then followed by manager-monitored hands on work.
Another safety measure we use at The Promised Land Adult Family Home is the use of technology and machinery to ensure the highest level of care and safety for your loved one. One item that we use to help ensure the safety of our residents is alarms and sensors. These include call buttons and motion sensors, which can notify caregivers if the resident is in need of help or is attempting to get out of their bed or chair. Another alarm system, which we implement, is door sensors on all exterior doors, which set off an alarm notifying caregivers if anyone is entering the home or if a resident is trying to leave. We also implement a hydraulic powered “sit to stand” lift. This a large sturdy lift which can fully transfer residents in most situations and is primarily used for residents who have lost the ability to safely walk. It can assist in the safe transferring of residents in situations such as transferring them from their wheelchair into bed.
The last piece of safety measure that I will talk about is the measures we take to ensure the security of medications and chemicals. All medications are locked into a medication locker and can only be accessed a Nurse delegated medication administrator (most if not all employees become delegated). The medications are also recorded as they are given to ensure that we keep track of when and why (if applicable such as “as needed” medications). This ensures that no medications is over given or over used. We also have all cabinets containing chemicals locked by a magnetic locking system. This is to help ensure that the visually or mentally impaired residents do not mistakenly drink such things as bleach confusing it for a bottle of their favorite beverage or consuming cleaning tablets, mistaking them for candy. These are just a few ways that The Promised Land Adult Family Home ensures the highest standard of care and safety for you or your elderly loved one.
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